Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Wednesday ordered multiple organizations to stop shipping abortion-inducing drugs into the state, threatening penalties of at least $100,000 per violation.
The cease-and-desist letters threaten penalties of at least $100,000 per violation. The enforcement action highlights ongoing tensions over abortion access in Texas following the state’s near-total abortion ban. It also raises questions about interstate commerce and federal law enforcement.
Paxton cited two cases where men allegedly obtained abortion drugs illegally. In one lawsuit, a man reportedly used the drugs to poison his girlfriend, causing a miscarriage and hospitalizing her.
The targeted organizations include Plan C, Her Safe Harbor, and an Aid Access affiliate. These groups advertise mail-order abortion pills with Texas delivery within days.
“Texas will not tolerate the murdering of innocent life through illegal drug trafficking,” Paxton said in the August 20 announcement. “These abortion drug organizations and radical activists are not above the law, and I have ordered the immediate end of this unlawful conduct.”
The attorney general claimed the shipments violate both Texas’ Human Life Protection Act and the federal Comstock Act, which prohibits using the U.S. Mail to ship materials that are deemed obscene or that are for abortion-causing purposes.
“This is a flagrant violation of both state and federal laws, and we are going to do everything in our power to protect mothers and unborn babies,” Paxton added.
Organizations that fail to comply face potential lawsuits seeking injunctive relief. The state could pursue civil penalties for each violation of Texas law.
The letters represent Paxton’s latest effort to enforce Texas abortion restrictions. He pledged to prevent “out-of-state activists” from circumventing state law “to aid in the murder of the unborn.”